One Smile Can Change Everything
by GalaxyAxle
Summary: No one had seen Kristy for the whole summer and when she does come home, she certainly had changed. Will this bring about any changes among the club? Chapter 3 Up!
1. Kristy's Return

Disclaimer - I don't own The Babysitters Club or any of the characters.

Author's Note - This is my first story and any constructive criticisms and idea are welcome but I have my first few chapters planned out.  Please e-mail me at blazeflametthotmail.com with the subject:  'One Smile'.  This Chapter is written in the 3rd person.

Please note:  It takes me a while to get into a story so this first chapter isn't that good, please bear with me and give me a few chapters to get into it.  Thank you. 

Now onto the story:

**One Smile Can Change Everything******

**Chapter 1 - Kristy's Return**

Kristy had been away at an all-girls summer sports camp that her Mom and Watson had offered to send her to - she'd had a choice - sports camp or staying at home for yet another boring summer in Stoneybrook and although she hadn't wanted to leave her friends and the Babysitters Club, the idea of playing sports for the whole summer and meeting new people had persuaded her.  Marginally.  Of course, she knew that she could trust Mary Anne, Claudia, Stacey, Dawn, Mallory and Jessi - the other BSC members - but she still had her worries about the welfare of the club.

These worries however were long forgotten by the time the end of Kristy's sports camp rolled round.  To celebrate the end of the camp, a whole series of games were organised and each camper got to choose one sport to participate in with professional equipment and uniforms, naturally Kristy chose baseball.  The huge baseball game was organised and the participants of the camp were allowed to invite family and friends to watch the game they were in.  Kristy, of course invited all the Thomas/Brewers and the whole BSC, including Shannon.  Logan, however couldn't make it, he was on vacation.

However, due to the timings of the game and the long journey from Stoneybrook to New Jersey, no one would actually see Kristy before her game.  But everyone left early from Stoneybrook and arrived in plenty of time.  Everyone Kristy invited got seats on the first base side.  Kristy had kept in contact with everyone via phone calls and letters and they knew she would be playing first base so everyone wanted to see her.

Finally the game started and the players trooped out onto the field.  It was announced that Kristy's team, the Cougars, were batting second.  One by one, girls stood at home plate and swung at a variety of pitches, many made contact with the ball.  It was quite an exciting game but by the end of the fifth inning, no one had seen or heard anything of Kristy.

During the sixth inning, it was the Cougars' turn to field and at first base was a shortish, brown-haired girl with writing on the back of her uniform.  Stacey McGill, a BSC member and a friend of Kristy's noticed this and leaned forward, squinting, to try to read the writing, "Thomas," she muttered.  She nudged Claudia Kishi, "Hey, it says 'Thomas' on the back of the first base player's uniform.  Do you think it's Kristy?"

Claudia squinted and like Stacey leaned forward to read the writing, "It definitely says 'Thomas'," she said triumphantly, "might be her.  Should we call her to see if it is?"

"Why not?" Shannon Kilbourne, who was sitting on the other side of Stacey, asked.

"Yeah, go for it," Stacey replied.

Claudia took a deep breath and flicked a strand of dark hair out of her eyes.  "KRISTY!" she bellowed.  The first-base player didn't even flinch.  Claudia knew that she wasn't as loud as Kristy and didn't have as good an outdoor voice but..."She must have heard that!" she exclaimed, not to happy.

"Claud," Mary Anne Spier said gently, "there are probably many people who have the surname 'Thomas'.  It might not have been her."

"Yeah, you're right.  It probably wasn't her."

"We'll see her after the game remember, then she'll be at our club meeting on Monday."  Mallory Pike reminded her.

"Yeah, it'll be good to see her again," Jessi Ramsey said, smiling.

None of the BSC members were particularly interested in baseball, (except for Logan Bruno, Mary Anne's boyfriend who wasn't there) so they all practically zoned out after they gave up looking for more Thomas's.  But there was one thing that brought them back to Earth in the ninth inning.  An announcement suddenly blared over the speakers, "Next up to bat is Kristy Thomas!"

All the BSC sat bolt upright, looking towards the home plate where the same shortish, brown-haired girl was holding a bat and staring down the pitcher.  Dawn Schafer, who had been very quiet, felt a flutter in her stomach.  She'd woken up with an upset stomach that morning and almost didn't go.  However, Mary Anne, her stepsister, persuaded her to go.  "Come on," she'd said, "we haven't seen Kristy all summer and you know how good it'll be to watch her play baseball and see her again." 

"All right," agreed Dawn, reluctantly.  After a while, her stomach had felt a lot better and was fine for most of the day but now she could feel the tingling pain again.

The bases were loaded and two outs.  Shannon glanced at the scoreboard.  The score was tied, 8-8, in the ninth inning, this was the last chance the Cougars had to win!  She repeated this to the BSC members.

"Woo!  Go Kristy!" Claudia whooped, "Bases loaded, two outs!"

"Gee, no pressure," Stacey mumbled.

But Kristy appeared not to hear.  The pitcher pitched, she swung and missed.  The second time the ball was too low.  Kristy altered her grip on the bat and concentrated harder.  This time, she made contact with the ball.  It flew deep into right field where the fielder had to run to get it. 

Kristy dashed round the bases, sending everyone home ahead of her.  She was close to home base now and she could hear the fielders communicating to each other and she knew the ball was on it's way to home plate.  Kristy ran faster and she reached the base a second before the ball landed in the catcher's glove.

The BSC members were all waiting outside in the parking lot for Kristy.  Dawn mentioned something about an upset stomach and went to find a restroom.  Eventually she did find one, but her stomach was still fluttery when she came out.  She left the bathroom and nearly walked into a girl with brown hair coming out of the door opposite her labeled 'Locker Room'.

Dawn gasped and looked carefully at the girl.  "Kristy?" she asked.

Kristy turned around.  "Dawn?" she replied, breaking into a smile when she saw her Californian friend.  She dropped the sports bag she was carrying and she threw her arms around Dawn and they hugged tight until Dawn drew back to take a proper look at Kristy.

"Is that you?" Dawn asked in amazement, "you look so different!"  She gasped again and gripped her stomach which was starting to ache again.

"Woah, you OK?"

"Yeah, fine."

Kristy, who used to be the shortest in the club, was now as tall as Dawn.  She had filled out a lot more and was now a lot curvier and muscular ('probably from playing sport all summer,' Dawn thought).  She had a dimple in either cheek when she smiled and even her smile was different,  sort of crooked and lopsided and, well, cheeky was the word that came to Dawn's mind.  Her deep brown eyes shone and had an unfamiliar twinkle in them.

Dawn didn't notice that she was staring at Kristy with her mouth open, gawping.  Her jaw was practically scraping the ground.

"Er, Dawn," Kristy brought Dawn back to Earth, "you're staring at me."

Dawn swallowed hard and blushing a little,  tucked a strand of pale blonde hair behind her ear, "Uh, yeah.  Sorry.  I'm just amazed at how different you look."

Kristy swung her bag onto her shoulder, "Yeah, well, don't worry, I'm still the same old Kristy."  She grinned.  "So how is everybody?  How's the BSC?" she asked as they started to walk back to the parking lot.

Dawn grinned, "Everyone's great, they're in the parking lot waiting to see you.  The club's running great, plenty of business.  Been a bit shorthanded, but we managed."  Kristy nodded, knowingly.  Dawn looked a little sheepish, "Wasn't the same without you though."

Kristy laughed and said, "What was it like being President then?"

"Not too bad, but it'll be nice to go back to being the Alternate for a while."

They had reached the parking lot by now and suddenly, a loud cheer was raised.  Everyone, Kristy's family, the BSC, Mrs. McGill and Mrs. Pike (who had driven the BSC there) were cheering.  The BSC ran to greet Kristy and gave her hugs and pats on the back and congratulated her endlessly.  Finally, once they were done, Kristy's whole family were surrounding her and the BSC stood back staring in disbelief at how much she had changed.

"Amazing," breathed Stacey.  Mary Anne sniffled and nodded, overcome with emotion at seeing Kristy again.

While Kristy's family went to collect Kristy's luggage from the main camp, she chatted with her friends.

"So Kristy," Claudia said, biting into a pretzel, "were on first base in the sixth inning?"

"Yeah," Kristy looked puzzled, "why?"

"We were shouting to you.  And cheering you on when you were batting in the ninth inning."

"Oh," Kristy looked sheepish, "I didn't hear you, I couldn't even see you - any of you.  But I knew you were here." She added quickly.

"What was the food like?  Did you like it?"  asked Mallory.

"Was it better than Camp Mohawk?" Jessi asked.

"Did you meet any nice guys?"  Stacey slyly asked.

"The food was good.  I liked it.  Yes, it was better than Camp Mohawk.  It was an all-girls camp but we met some guys from the boys' camp.  Yes, they were nice but Bart's my boyfriend."  She gasped for breath.

All the BSC huddled around Kristy asking questions.  Kristy was grinning and glowing with happiness.  She looked at everyone in the BSC, she was glad that she was back with them.  'The people at camp are nice,' she thought, 'but they don't compare to my BSC friends.'

Dawn, who was becoming paler by the minute, broke from the group and with one hand on her stomach and the other covering her mouth, she ran back to the restroom.  She stumbled through the door and into the first stall she came to and was violently sick in the toilet.

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What do you think?  R&R and e-mail me at blazeflametthotmail.com with the subject:  'One Smile' if you have any questions or suggestions.

Thank you

GalaxyAxle


	2. A Brief Hospital Visit

Disclaimer:  I don't own The Babysitters Club or any of the characters.****

Author's Note - This chapter is a bit tedious but bear with me, from the next chapter on, the story really starts to unfold.  blazeflametthotmail.com with the subject:  'One Smile' for comments, etc. 

Please note:  This Chapter is written in the 3rd person.

**Chapter 2**

**A Brief Hospital Visit**

Dawn was on her knees, head poised over the toilet bowl.  She'd been looking forward to today for a couple of weeks now and then this morning; she wakes up with an upset stomach.  'Great,' Dawn thought, 'of all days to be ill, it had to be today - the day that I'd come to watch Kristy play baseball.'

Dawn had almost stayed at home, in bed, that morning but Mary Anne had sat on the edge of her bed persuading her and telling her how much fun it would be.  Eventually Dawn gave in, mainly because she wanted to see Kristy again.  Okay, Kristy was bossy and domineering, but she was still a friend.

Dawn sighed and gagged a little.  She heard the bathroom door open and the rest of the BSC ran in, gathering around her.  Dawn sighed again and someone crouched down beside her.  Everyone was really concerned and proceeded to ask questions like, "Dawn, are you okay?" and "Don't worry, we're here Dawn."

The person who was crouched down reached up and took the sunglasses - which were perched precariously on Dawn's head - and placed them in her pocket.  Dawn didn't want to look anyone in the eye but she was curious about who was beside her. 

'Footwear,' she thought, 'I can always tell a person by their footwear.'  She looked down and spotted a pair of battered sneakers on the person's feet.  Battered sneakers.  Dawn sighed for a third time; she didn't even need to guess who that was.

Dawn felt tears spring to her eyes.  She was hurting a lot:  she'd been sick twice in the last two minutes and was in pain all over; her head was pounding and she felt dizzy; her legs were all shaky; her stomach ached and she had a pain in her chest.  She felt embarrassed and didn't want any of her friends to see her in this state. 

She turned to face Kristy.  "Kristy, I..." she began to say but her tears took over and she started to sob, cutting the sentence short.  Kristy, who had been rubbing her back, had now slipped her arm around Dawn's shoulders.  The rest of the BSC huddled closer to her and were hugging (or trying to hug) her.

Dawn, however, didn't like this.  She didn't want to be hugged.  Or crowded.  She wanted to get away from everyone and to go somewhere where she could be alone and cry and mope.  She didn't want her closest friends to see her crying.

She jumped up and stumbled out of the bathroom with tears blurring her vision.  She could hardly see.  She could hardly walk in a straight line and she knew it.  She could hear her friends shouting to her and knew they were following her.

Dawn broke into a run.   All she wanted was to be by herself.  Her friends obviously didn't understand that.  She kept running.  She wasn't sure where she was going and certainly couldn't see where she was going.

The BSC were, again, following Dawn.  And someone - she wasn't sure who - grabbed her.  With a new power Dawn never knew she had, she pulled away strongly, out of the person's grasp.  She lost her balance and landed heavily on the ground. 

She didn't move.  She couldn't move.  The pain in her whole body was too much and a new feeling started:  A sharp, throbbing in her left wrist caused her to cry in agony before she blacked out.

The babysitters stood around Dawn's limp body, not knowing what to do.  Then Kristy sprang into action, organising everyone, and telling them what to do. Stacey and Mallory were sent to get their parents - who had driven the BSC there - and Shannon went to find Kristy's parents.  Kristy told Claudia and Jessi to find a phone to call an ambulance and Dawn's Mom.

"She's back," Claudia muttered, smiling, as she left with Jessi. 

Kristy and Mary Anne stayed with Dawn until the adults arrived.  Then once the ambulance arrived, everything began to happen fast:  Dawn was placed on a stretcher and taken to a local hospital in New Jersey.  Everyone - except for Mary Anne who was in the ambulance with Dawn - followed in cars.  She had a quick check over at this hospital and when the people there were told that she lived in Stoneybrook, she was immediately transferred to Stoneybrook General Hospital.

When everyone reached Stoneybrook Hospital, Mrs. Schafer was already there, pacing up and down the waiting area.  Dawn was taken out of the ambulance and straight into x-ray to have her wrist checked.  Mary Anne hadn't let go of Dawn's hand until that moment.

While Dawn was being x-rayed, Mrs. Schafer tried to reassure Mary Anne, who had begun to cry, that Dawn would be okay.  A doctor came out of the x-ray room where everyone (except the younger Thomas/Brewer kids who had been take straight home by Watson) was gathered.  "Dawn looks to be fine," the doctor said, "she has a broken wrist and a few bruises from her fall but apart from that, seems fine."  Everyone sighed with relief.  The doctor continued, "it's probably not necessary for you all to stay here.  I'm sure Mrs. Schafer will keep you all posted about Dawn's progress."  The doctor smiled, "You can visit her tomorrow evening if you wish."

Everyone, except for Dawn's mom and Mary Anne, had gone home and eventually, Dawn was wheeled into a room by herself.  A cast on her left arm.

Dawn opened her eyes.  She found herself in a bed with crisp white sheets and too many pillows.  She looked around her, the room was quite small.  The walls were white with a few pictures on the wall.  The place seemed rather sterile.

"Dawn?" a voice asked.

"Mom?" Dawn replied, spotting her in a chair next to my bed, "where am I?"

"Stoneybrook General Hospital.  You've broken your wrist."  She smiled weakly and gave her daughter a hug.  She looked like she hadn't had any sleep. 

"Yeah, I remember," Dawn said resting her right hand on the cast.  "Mom, you look tired."

"Don't worry about me, Honey," she reached for Dawn's hand and held it tight.  "How are you feeling?  Your friends said you were in a pretty bad state yesterday.  And Mary Anne's really upset.  She was crying all night."

Dawn gave her a watery smile.  "I'm not too bad.  What day is it?  What time is it?"

"Sunday, 3:17," she said, glancing at the clock on the wall.

"In the morning?!?!"

"No,"  Mrs. Schafer laughed a little, "Afternoon.  You were out for almost 24 hours Honey."

Dawn sighed.  "How long do I have to stay here?"

"I don't know, Dawn."  Her mother sighed too, "You can walk around though, you don't have to stay in bed."

"Okay, that's good.  I'd hate to be stuck here."  She'd already decided that she didn't like the hospital and couldn't wait to get out of there.

"How's your stomach?"  Mom asked.  She was looking happier and somewhat relieved by this point.

The memory of that awful stomach upset flooded back to Dawn.  She shuddered.  She realised, however, that it seemed to have disappeared.  "Seems better, Mom.  Must've just been a bug."

"That's good to know."  She got up and perched on the edge of Dawn's bed and stroked her long, blonde hair.  "Mary Anne's in the canteen, she should be back soon.  And your friends are coming to visit after dinner."

Dawn began to sniffle.  She really wanted to cry. "Dawn," Her Mom lifted Dawn's head up and cupped it in her hand, "you're my brave girl.  You'll get through this."  She smiled at Dawn, "I'll leave you alone for a while, okay?"  She got up and left.

The thought of the BSC coming to visit brought tears to Dawn's eyes.  "How can I face them after that embarrassing display yesterday," Dawn thought aloud, "I've probably lost my friends because of it and..."  Her voice trailed off and she buried her head in her hands and let the tears roll silently down her cheeks.

"Hiya Sunshine!"

Dawn jerked my head up and quickly wiped away her tears.  "Mary Anne!" she exclaimed.

"Dawn, I'm so glad you're OK," She said throwing her arms around me and crying a little.  "Sharon said you were awake,"  Mary Anne continued, "how are you feeling?"

"Well, my stomach bug's gone but my wrist really hurts," Dawn said wincing a little.  They talked for ages and both girls lost track of time. 

Later on, Dawn got up to go for a little walk and to find a bathroom.  When she returned, not only was there a tray of food waiting for her but also everyone in the BSC and some of their families.  She grinned.  Dawn's embarrassment had dissolved - She was so glad to see everyone.

Once they'd greeted each other and hugged.  Claudia said, "Hey, look what I brought," and produced a whole pencil case of felt tip pens!  Dawn held out her cast and everyone dived for a pen and started to sign it.

Mallory asked, "How long will you have the cast on for?"

"About 6 weeks I think," Dawn replied, "the break's not that bad."

"Can you still babysit?" Jessi asked.  Dawn looked at her mom.

"It's up to you, Honey," Mrs. Schafer said.

"I think I'll manage," Dawn told everyone.  Kristy looked pleased.

Kristy made her usual comments about the state of the food and after that, Dawn dared to ask, "So what happened after I fainted?"  Well, everyone jerked to attention and told her the story.  During this, Dawn noticed that Kristy was giving her some pretty strange looks.  She nearly said something to her but then thought better of it and decided to keep her mouth closed.  'I don't want to start a fight this soon after Kristy's return,' she thought.

The nurse came by to collect Dawn's tray and she asked the nurse "How much longer do I have to stay here?"

"Well," the nurse smiled, "you can go home tomorrow, but you'll need to come back every few days for checkups and x-rays."

Dawn grinned again.

Before the BSC members left that night, Dawn apologised for her behavior the previous day while nervously playing with her hair.

"Don't worry about it Dawn," Stacey said, "it wasn't your fault.  You were ill."  Everyone else agreed.

"So you'll be out tomorrow then Dawn?" Kristy asked.

"That's what the nurse said," Dawn told her.  She had a feeling she knew what was coming.

"So, you'll be at the BSC meeting then?"  Dawn was right!  Back to business as usual for Kristy.

"Yeah, Kristy, I'll be there."  Dawn smiled sweetly.  The whole BSC had a plan that was going to put into action for the following evening.

"By the way, Kristy," Mary Anne said, "you don't think you could come over to our house tomorrow before the meeting?  About 4 o'clock?"  The BSC (except Kristy) exchanged glances.  They knew that the plan was in action.

"Er, Sure," Kristy said cautiously.

From the moment Dawn woke up the next morning, she could feel the excitement bubbling inside her.  She dressed as quickly as she could and was brushing her long silky hair when her mom walked in.

"Ready to go Dawn?" she said.

"You bet!" Dawn replied, grabbing her backpack.

The journey from the hospital to Dawn's house was a short one - about five minutes -  but the whole time she was staring out of the window, thinking about the past two days.

She would never have thought that one day away from home would have been this eventful and was happy to get home.  She patted her autographed cast and smiled, remembering her plan.  She couldn't wait for the evening to arrive.

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Okay, that's enough for Chapter 2.  Chapter 3 is on the way!

Please R&R.  blazeflametthotmail.com with the subject 'One Smile' for suggestions, etc.


	3. The Party

Disclaimer: I don't own The Babysitters Club or any of the characters.

Author's Note - Now I'm starting to get into my story.  Hope you enjoy it!  E-mail blazeflametthotmail.com with the subject: 'One Smile' for comments, etc.

Please note: This Chapter is written in the 3rd person again.

**Chapter 3**

**The Party**

"Hello?" said the voice on the end of the phone.

"Dawn?  Is that you?  It's Kristy."  Kristy said into the phone.

"Hey Kristy what's up?"  Dawn asked, puzzled.

"I can't get to your house for 4 o'clock.  I don't know if I'll even get to the BSC meeting tonight," she complained.  She sounded like she was on the verge of whining.

"Why not?"

"Well, Watson's not back from his office yet, David Michael, Sam and Charlie have gone to some football game somewhere and Mom was supposed to bring me over but she's just been called into the office.  And it's too late to start cycling over.  I hate being late and..." 

"Okay Kristy, don't panic," Dawn said cutting Kristy short, "I'll see if my Mom can drive you over.  Hold on a sec."  Dawn placed her hand over the receiver while she talked to her Mom.  Kristy heard muffled sounds on the other end of the phone.  "Mom said she'll come and collect you."

"Thanks Dawn, you're a lifesaver."  Kristy sighed with relief.

"Mom'll be there in 5 minutes, okay Kristy?"

"Yeah, no problem.  See you in a few minutes."

"'Bye."  Dawn hung up the phone and grinned.  The plan was in action.

She ran to the bottom of the stairs, "Mary Anne!  Kristy's on her way.  Come on!"

"Okay," Mary Anne called dashing down the stairs.

Both girls ran to their yard where a huge marquee had been set up.  Inside, there were many tables and chairs set up towards the entrance.  At the end furthest away from the entrance was a stage set up with speakers.  There were decks and piles and piles of CDs to the right of the stage for the DJs.  Along the sides of the tent were tables filled with refreshments and the rest of the area was left as a dance floor.

Banners (courtesy of Claudia) were hung around the inside bearing messages such as 'Welcome Back Kristy!', 'Home Run For Kristy!' and various others.  There were streamers strung from corner to corner and balloons were all over the place.

Seated at the tables were the families of all the BSC members, clients of the BSC, their charges and also Bart Taylor and his family.  The BSC were gathered in their places, waiting for word from Dawn that Kristy was on her way. 

Logan and Shannon - who were keeping a general eye on things - were joined by Mary Anne while Dawn dashed to Claudia and Stacey at the sound booth and grabbed a radio microphone and hooked it in place over her ear.  She walked up the steps onto the stage and Stacey signalled that the mic was on.  Dawn nodded.

"Listen everyone!" Dawn said.  She could hear her own voice out of the speakers.  "Kristy will be here any minute and then we can get this party started!"  A cheer rose from the crowd.  Dawn grinned, "While we're waiting, we're going to listen to a little music."

Dawn stepped off the stage and Claudia flicked a switch on the decks.  A familiar song blared out of the speakers.  Everyone chatted away and the babysitters were waiting nervously for Kristy's arrival.

Seven minutes passed. A car door slammed outside.  Kristy appeared at the marquee entrance with Mrs. Schafer.  She looked totally surprised.  She did a double-take when she saw her whole family sitting at a table.  Karen, Andrew, their Mom and Stepdad were sitting at the table next to them.

Dawn bounded back onto the stage and signalled to Stacey who gave her the thumbs-up back.

"Okay everyone, time to start the festivities!" Another cheer rose from the crowd.  "But first," Dawn said, "you have to listen to me talk for a few minutes."

"Oh no!" Claudia joked, smirking.

Dawn gave a quick safety brief then introduced everyone, "Okay everyone, in case you don't know or forgot, I'm Dawn Schafer and I'm going to be your MC tonight." She gestured towards Stacey and Claudia, "Claudia Kishi and Stacey McGill will be DJing for us tonight so if you have any requests just go and tell them and we'll see what we can do.  Mallory Pike and Jessi Ramsey," she gestured again, "will be in charge of refreshments and Mary Anne Spier, Logan Bruno and Shannon Kilbourne will be keeping a general eye on things.

"Some information on tonight - we're going to play some music and we've got a karaoke," she went on to describe about requesting songs to sing, "and, before Kristy kills me, I'd better mention that as we're missing our BSC meeting tonight, if any of you guys need a sitter for the near future, please let one of the BSC members know before you go so we can a sitter arranged for you.

"Speaking of the BSC, as Acting Chairperson, I'd like to invite Kristy Thomas, our guest of honour - to the stage." Kristy smiled and walked to the stage.  She was handed a microphone as she passed Claudia and Stacey.

"Mary Anne," Dawn said, once Kristy had reached the stage, "the Club Notebook please."  Mary Anne passed Dawn the notebook and Dawn turned to face Kristy who was to her right.  "Kristy, please place your hand on the notebook."  Kristy obeyed.  "As Acting Chairperson, I hereby return you, Kristen Amanda Thomas, to the position of Chairperson in the Babysitters Club." Dawn paused.  "Would you care to say a few words?"

"Yes, thank you.  First if all Dawn," she took the Notebook from Dawn, "I would like you to place your hand - preferably the unbroken one - on the notebook.  As Chairperson, I hereby return you, Dawn Read Schafer, to your position of Alternate Officer."  Kristy said, echoing Dawn's speech.  Dawn gave a nod of thanks and stepped aside.  Then Kristy continued, "I can't believe you guys kept this party secret!  How long have you had this organised?"

"About 3 weeks," Shannon called.

"Hmm, anyway," she said looking towards her family, "you guys were pretty sneaky.  Leaving me in the house by myself.  I even called Dawn panicking!"  She grinned.  "Anyway, I'm glad to be back.  I missed everyone here.  I have one last thing to say:  Let's get this party started!  Thank you!"

Kristy left the stage.  Dawn laughed, "Thanks Kristy.  To get the karaoke off to a start, I'm going to sing the song 'Fame' by Irene Cara (A/N: One of my favourite songs!)."  So Dawn, by herself on the stage, sang the solo.  She got the audience involved in the chorus and surprised everyone at how good she was at singing.

The party continued in a similar fashion with a variety of songs played and many, many more performed.  Some of the clients and charges had a go at the karaoke and at one point the BSC (except Kristy - who wasn't there for the practices - and Mary Anne - who is shy) performed a song that they had practised in advance which included dancing.

Everything went pretty smoothly and crises were avoided, except one or two exceptions like Jenny Prezzioso's tantrum when she had to wait her turn to sing and Alan Gray gatecrashing the party but being allowed to stay as long as he behaved (he had quite a few goes on the karaoke and seemed to get worse and worse every time) and at 7:30 the party was confirmed a hit when Dawn got back on stage to sing again and then said, "Well, unfortunately, that's the end of the party." (This was met by groans), "Did you all have fun?"  (This was met by a huge cheer), "Well, I can definitely say this:  We certainly welcomed Kristy back from her summer away at Sports Camp.  We, the BSC, would like to thank everyone for their help with the fund-raising for this and with the setting up tonight.  Goodnight!"

There was a round of applause and everyone began to leave.  Some people stayed to help clear up and strike the tent.  The company came and took the hired karaoke set and stage.  Another company came to collect the tables and chairs and eventually, the yard was back to normal with the BSC - except for Logan and Shannon - gathered in the centre.

"Well, are you all suitably stuffed or should we go and order a pizza?" Mary Anne asked.

"Pizza sounds good," Claudia said, "we were so busy DJing we didn't get much of a chance to eat."

After debating what to have, they went into Mary Anne and Dawn's house to order.  Soon they were settling down at the dining room table surrounded by pizza, sodas and junk food.  Halfway through their food, the doorbell rang and about a minute later, Sharon walked into the room closely followed by Mrs. Brewer.

"Mom?  What are you doing here?" Kristy asked, "I thought you said I could stay for pizza."

"I did, I just forgot to drop something off for you." Kristy's Mom replied.  Kristy looked at her suspiciously.  Mrs. Brewer revealed Kristy's rucksack and sleeping bag.  Now Kristy was looking at her questioningly.  "They haven't told you yet then?"

"Told me what?"  Kristy looked around the table at her friends.

"We're having a slumber party."  Mallory grinned.

"In honour of your return and to celebrate the almost end to summer vacation as we're going back to school next week."  This time Stacey grinned.

"You guys..." Kristy tailed off, she could feel tears filling her eyes.  She looked up at her Mom, "thanks Mom."

Mrs. Brewer left.

After they'd eaten, the BSC trooped up to Dawn's room.  Dawn was carrying a tray of drinks and Mary Anne was carrying a tray of snacks.  Everyone changed into their pyjamas and nightdresses and then started discussing the events of the party.

"What about when Jackie Rodowsky flung his hands in the air when he was singing and managed to launch the microphone across the tent," Stacey said, "I'm so glad Logan caught it, imagine what the rental place would have said if he hadn't."

"How about when Alan Gray was dancing with Dawn?" Jessi asked giggling.

"That was entertaining," Claudia agreed.  Dawn shot her a Look.  Claudia continued, "and what about Bart."  Kristy blushed a shade of crimson; she knew exactly what was coming next.  "I thought it was really sweet when he serenaded Kristy and then kissed her in front of everybody."  She flashed Kristy a sly smile.

Mary Anne added, "He really did miss you Kristy."

"Er," Kristy looked very sheepish.

"What's wrong Kristy?"  Everyone stopped what they were doing.  Mary Anne stopped brushing Dawn's hair.  Jessi who was doing stretches on the floor looked up.  Mallory, Stacey and Claudia who had been lying on Dawn's bed sat up.

"Well, I....you see....something happened at camp." Kristy finally said.

"What?  Did you meet someone else?" Mallory asked.

"I suppose you could say that."  Kristy muttered.  It was clear to everyone that she didn't want to talk about it.

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There we go.  Chapter 3 done and dusted.  What do you think?  Please R&R.

See ya soon.  blazeflametthotmail.com for comments, suggestions, etc.

GalaxyAxle


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